ABSTRACT
Spondias mombin have long been used for a variety of therapeutic purposes. The leaves of S. mombin are used to treat a variety of microbiological illnesses, including those caused by viruses, fungus, bacteria, yeast, and candida. They are thought to be antiseptic and have a broad antibacterial range. Its leaves exhibit hematinic, anthelmintic, sedative, and anti-inflammatory properties. Alkaloids, flavonoids, phenols, tannins, and saponins are all present in Spondias mombin leaf. It also has riboflavin, thiamine, and is high in ascorbic acid and niacin. The aim of this study is to determine the side effects of Spondias mombin leaf extracts on the kidney of adult wistar rats. Twelve adult Wistar rats with an average weight of 150 - 200g were used for this study. The rats were kept to acclimatize for 2 weeks in the Animal House located in the faculty of Pharmacy at University of Benin Extracts were prepared by air drying Roots and leaves for 2 weeks before pulverizing into powdered form. The powder was further put into 90% ethanol and agitated continuously for 24 hours using mechanical shaker. The solution obtained was then filtered and was completely devoid of powder. The animals were numbered, weighed and randomly selected into 4 groups; Group A served as the control group, group B received 100mg/kg body weight of Spondias mombin extract, group C received 200mg/kg body weight of Spondias mombin extract, and group D received 400mg/kg body weight of Spondias mombin extract. The experiment lasted for 30 days after which the animals were sacrificed and their kidney tissues were excised, grossed, washed in normal saline, processed with automatic tissue processor (Hestion -ATP7000 tissue processor- Germany), and embedded using embedding machine(GMI SKU#: 8315-30-0004 Sakura Tissue-Tek 5, MN. USA). Tissue sections of about 3-5 microns were obtained with digital rotary microtome (Hestion ERM 4000 Germany) while staining was according to haematoxylin and eosin method. were extracted for laboratory tests. Results from this study showed that the experimental animals fed with varying doses (100mg/kg, 200mg/kg, 400mg/kg bw) of Spondias mombin showed no significant structural changes in the architecture of the kidney tissues as they presented normal architecture with normal renal tubules and glomerulus with bowman capsule. From the findings of this study, it can be conclusively drawn that Spondias mombin has no significant functional effect on the kidney of adult wistar rats. However, high dosages could lead to marked structural damages of the the kidney.
